The Judicial Branch of Arizona, Maricopa County

Phillips vs. Phoenix Union High Schools and Junior College District
Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County, No. 72909Judge Fred C. Struckmeyer, Jr. (1912-1992)
Judge Fred C. Struckmeyer, Jr., a native of Phoenix, was the son of Fred Struckmeyer, Sr., who served one
term on the Superior Court in Maricopa County from 1923-1925. Judge Struckmeyer served in the Army during
World War II and was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He became a Superior Court
judge in 1950, before serving for 26 years as an Arizona Supreme Court justice. Judge Struckmeyer was
known to be an excellent legal scholar and strict constitutionalist. He was also a recognized authority
on Arizona water law. After his mandatory retirement at the age of 70 he was appointed to the Arizona
Racing Commission.

On February 9, 1953, Judge Struckmeyer decided the case Phillips vs. Phoenix Union High Schools and Junior
College District. At the time, the Carver High School, at 415 E. Grant St. in Phoenix, was the only legally
segregated high school in the state. The Phillips case was filed by Hayzel B. Daniels, the first
African-American to pass the Arizona bar examination and one of the first two African-Americans elected to the
Arizona legislature, and long-time prominent Phoenix attorney Herbert B. Finn. Neither lawyer was paid for his
work; Daniels paid the court filing fee out himself.

Writing that "a half century of intolerance is enough," Judge Struckmeyer ruled that the Arizona law
permitting school boards to segregate pupils was unconstitutional, and the Phoenix Union district's segregation
of African-American students was illegal. His decision was made a year before the U.S. Supreme Court decided
Brown v. Board of Education.

Below are links to PDFs of the documents filed in the Phillips case, including Judge Struckmeyer's
decision. The PDFs were made from the official microfilm of the original documents.

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